Exciting day of Finals racing at the CKC Olympic and Paralympic Sprint Trials
Burnaby, BC (March 15, 2021) – It was an eventful day on Burnaby Lake today as competition wrapped up for Canadian Sprint Olympic hopefuls.
Two finals events were postponed yesterday, the women’s C2 500m final and the men’s C1 1000m final, due to reported symptoms of illness, signalling the activation of the CKC COVID protocols. The affected individuals were immediately placed into isolation, steps for proactive contact tracing were initiated in consultation with public health officials, and COVID testing. These races will be rescheduled with dates and locations still to be determined.
The women’s K2 500m Final 2 race win was secured by Natalie Davison (Rideau Canoe Club) and Courtney Stott with a time of 1:46.53. Second place went to Lissa Bissonnette (Club de Canoe Pointe-Claire) and Madeline Schmidt (Rideau Canoe Club) with a time of 1:47.23.
The men’s K1 200m Final 2 was won by Nicholas Matveev (Balmy Beach Canoe Club) today. 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, Mark De Jonge (Maskwa Aquatic Club) secured Saturday’s Final 1 win which typically results in a race-off between the two top paddlers. All race-offs were deferred to a date and location to be determined by the Chief Technical Officer.
The women’s K1 500m Final was dominated by Michelle Russell (Cheema Aquatic Club), delivering a perfect score card at these Olympic trials and along with securing the K4 500m Olympic qualification on Friday.
The final race of the day featured the men’s K2 1000m final 2 with Nicholas Matveev (Balmy Beach Canoe Club) and Simon McTavish (Mississauga Canoe Club) securing their second finals win and the continuation of their qualification journey on the road to the Olympic Games.
“It was a great four days of racing and we need to thank the volunteers and officials who made it all possible,” said CKC’s CTO, Graham Barton. “It is always difficult when things do not go completely according to plan, but our priority has always been through this process to ensure the safety of everyone by following our protocols and it is these exact protocols that made this event possible in the first place. We will provide an alternative opportunity to run the two events we had to cancel at another date and location. In the end, I am confident that the team we ultimately will take to Tokyo will be very competitive in the finals of every event.”
The Canadian Sprint Olympic and Paralympic trials continue through the World Cup season and final Olympic qualifiers in the spring, where the final Olympic and Paralympic teams will ultimately be confirmed.
CKC would like to thank Canoe Kayak BC, the City of Burnaby and Tourism Burnaby for their support of this event.
To learn more about the status of Tokyo qualifications for Canadian sprint paddlers, click here.
What:
CKC Olympic and Paralympic Sprint Trials
When:
March 11-14, 2021
Where:
Burnaby, BC – Map
How to Follow:
About Canoe Kayak Canada
Canoe Kayak Canada is the national governing body for competitive paddling in Canada, one of Canada’s top performing summer sports with a total of 24 Olympic medals, and a leader in the Paralympic movement. Canoe Kayak Canada is a member-based organization that includes an intricate network of clubs as well as provincial, territorial and divisional paddling associations. Elite National Team athletes proudly represent Canada at various competitions around the globe – most notably the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan American Games, ICF World Cups as well as Junior, Under 23 and Senior World Championships.